Chapter 2 - The First Shift
SNAP I whimper as my bones break and realign themselves. I remember waking up feeling sick, mother and father saying I could stay home from school for the day. About an hour ago I went to the kitchen for a drink and that’s when it happened, my ankle broke on its own and I let out a blood curdling scream that had my parents running to me. It was then we realized I was shifting. "She's only six! She shouldn't be shifting till she is sixteen!" It was my mother, her voice laced with fear and worry. I knew that the fever I had been experiencing since last night was now not a cold or flu. My body had decided that now would be the time I would shift into my wolf form for the first time.SNAP cry out, my voice mixing with a howl. How could anyone expect a six-year-old to handle so much pain in one go. I know the risks of an early shift. Father made sure that we knew that the shift was a painful process and reassured my siblings and I that I would be fine when it happens at sixteen. That is until now when my shift started at only six years old. But what I want at this moment is the pack doctor to come and numb me. Tears form in my eyes as I helplessly look towards my mother and father, begging for help. "It just means our little Amber will be mated to an Alpha one day, maybe even a Royal." My father says with pride as he reassures my mother that everything will be alright. He hugs her briefly before bending down and holding a bottle of water with a straw to my lips. “Drink Amberle, it’ll help.” I do as he tells me to and quickly drink as much of the cold liquid as fast as possible. He is right, it did help. But my skin feels like it is on fire, like it did when I accidentally scalded my foot with hot tea only ten times worse. More bones break and shatter before reforming, the pain causing me to retch up any fluids inside my stomach.SNAPMy body contorts with pain as I shift to all fours, my body changing from human to wolf, the pain more unbearable than before. Tears are streaming down my face as my jaw becomes longer till it is a snout, teeth sharpen unnaturally, and fur covers my skin.SNAPMy mother leaves the room crying knowing that the possibility of me making it through the shift at this age is low. I could end up dying today just from the shift.GROWLMy father wipes away the sweat and blood, cause by the fur that continues to pierce my skin like sharp needles, from my forehead, causing the ears that shifted to the top of my head to flatten with pain.SNAPWHIMPERSNAPAfter what feels like an eternity of pain I slowly open my eyes to a new sensation. The house is quiet, but I can sense my parents in the room. Their presence calling to me like a G.P.S signal. Something instinct told me to listen too."Honey, are you okay?" My mother's worried voice carries from across the room from where I am hiding. I whimper slightly wanting to answer but finding I couldn’t. It takes me a moment until my mind wraps around the fact that I am in wolf form. My tail thumps gently and I let out a soft whine. It is clear my parents are giving me space to learn about my second body, letting me test my limbs and focus on the new sensation of being lower to the ground. With courage I stand on wobbly legs, taking my first step before crashing to the floor and out of the safety of my hiding spot behind the kitchen island.My parents gasp and I stare at their faces, their eyes wide with awe as they watch my movements while I struggle to stand again, my mother quickly helping me up and letting me use her body as support to stand."Amberle, you're beautiful. Maxwell, grab the full mirror from the hall way for our daughter to see herself." My mother exclaims happily, her hands in my fur and softly petting me. I give her a puzzled look as my father walks away to proceed with what my mother requested him to do. After a few minutes he returns with the glass portion hidden from my view. Curiously, I follow his movements until my eyes are blocked by my mother and the sounds of the mirror being set up reaches my ears. Finally, things quiet down as I feel my small body being led to a spot, curiosity causing me to grow impatient. I want to see what I look like."Tah-dah!" My mother exclaims, taking her hands off of my eyes and moving out of the way. I face my reflection with shock and curiosity as a fluff ball of fur stares back at me in the reflection. From what I can see I am the size of a full-grown medium dog, smaller than most werewolves who shift for the first time because I am only six but still bigger than I expected. In all honesty I should not have shifted at all for another ten years when a werewolf is mature and strong enough to handle the pain the first shift brings. The wolf in the mirror has fur like fire and it is this fur that mesmerizes me the most as my striking blue eyes stand out against the fur. Like the surface of the sun with multiple oranges, red and yellows it holds my attention in the reflection of the mirror and when I moved each strand of fur swayed as if I am a ball of living fire.I am beautiful and I know it, even if I am only six.For a while I just stare at myself, moving my tail and paws to watch my fur. My whole being fascinating me. Hours passed and my parents left me to watch my reflection as I sat quietly on the kitchen floor. Now and then they would remind me to drink water or eat food that they place in bowls for me to eat. I just refuse to shift into my skin and go back to walking around like a normal every day human would."We're home!" My sister calls as she and my brother slam the front door closed. School must have ended for the day as their loud footsteps announce their way towards the kitchen."How is Amber doin-" My brother stops his question when he catches sight of me only to stare at my form, my tail wagging with happiness to see my siblings. Both had shifted early, Zack at age ten and Mia at age nine. Zack, now now fourteen and Mia, now eleven, were carried out of the house on their birthdays when the shift took over. Father and the Alpha made sure to coach them through the shift while mother kept me and Leo with her. With both my siblings having more experience as wolves over me and knew the pain of an early shift, they made sure to describe the pain in detail and what happened scaring me so much that I had nightmares. Of course when my siblings shifted, the pack celebrated with two prodigies as their fates meant something greater for them. That they would strengthen our pack. This now meant the same for me as well."Is that Amberle?" Mia asks in awe, her eyes staying on me. "Yes, apparently the fever she had this morning was her starting to shift." My father answers, taking the mirror away from me. I whimper in protest, biting the cuff of his pants gently and giving him puppy eyes in hopes of keeping the mirror to myself. "Sorry Amber but you’ve sat in front of that mirror almost all afternoon. You need to get up and move around more first to get used to your wolf side.” I whimpered again after his statement as I move to keep staring at myself. I knew my father is right as my clumsy attempts to keep the image of my fur in front of me has my body tripping and slipping on the hard wood every few steps until father and the mirror were too far to catch up. I could hear the gasps from my siblings, turning to see their eyes still trained on me, on my fire like fur. Their wolves being dull compared to mine I smile knowing that I am a rare wolf amongst my siblings. Zack is a beige wolf with a white spot over his left eye like my mother’s wolf and Mia a soft russet brown with black tipped paws.But I am unique.I am different.And I am determined to stay that way.Chapter 3 - The Accident Soon after my first shift, I was sent to training. Special wolves who shifted early are sent to train with three things in mind: speed, stealth, and self-defence. We’re smaller than the wolves that usually had their first shift at sixteen years old, which is why we’re taught how to be fast and silent but also how to defend ourselves. We are considered an “elite wolf” meant to serve a higher purpose in our pack. At sixteen, we could choose to either become Hunters or Trackers. If we end up being strong enough, we could be the leaders of our pack like a Beta, Second Beta, Head Hunter, or Head Tracker. I personally am eyeing the tracking spot just like Mother—the fastest Tracker in our pack. I could already be considered a natural. My body, although small, is faster than most sixteen-year-old shifters. I can easily keep up with older wolves and hide my scent even better. My mother always takes Mia and me for extra training because Mia seemed to be the only one b
Chapter 4 - Years of AgonyFourteen Years Old I groan as the banging on my door continues to resound within my room. I knew it wasn’t Blue because he was on his business trip, and it couldn’t be Axel because he and Serena were also on said business trip. Today is also Saturday, so there is clearly nothing important for now. Even training is off for today since the Elite members of the pack were away. I just wanted to sleep all day. Finally, the banging stops and I find the comfort of my warm bed in the still silence. Soon, I return to blissful sleep. I jerk awake, gasping for air as the chill of ice-cold water snaps me away from dreamland. My pyjamas stick to my skin while my eyes frantically search for the culprit until I see Mia snickering a few feet away, with Leo smirking beside her. One of their lackeys—a Hunter-in-training named Adam—stands at the foot of my bed laughing and clutching a bucket that I assumed the ice water came from. ‘Of course, they would start their shit.’ I
Chapter 5 - Three More DaysThe shrill sound of my alarm clock has me leaving my dreams to face a cruel reality ‘Another day in hell.’ I think as I fling back the covers and try my best to deal with the stupid alarm clock Blue gave me. When I hit ninth grade and started high school, he realized that I had a habit of sleeping past the ringing of my usual alarm clock and sleep in past my first class. It’s why he gifted me this amazing alarm clock—note the sarcasm. I hate this thing. In order to turn it off, I had to enter in a passcode, and my semi-awake mind rarely got it right on the first try. After what I assume to be three minutes and ten attempts at turning the device off, the stupid alarm stops, and the clock left me with silence. Did I mention that I hated this thing? With a sigh, I knew I had to start getting ready for school. Surprisingly, even though I slept in a lot during grade nine, I had managed to pass that year with an eighty percent average, and since then kept my
Chapter 6 - The Full Moon Rejection Wakey, wakey, Amber, and happy birthday, sweetie...The voice floats through the air as a remnant from my dream, and a soft smile graces my lips. The light from my window illuminates the picture of my parents on my desk, and I am reminded of my dream last night. In it, they were beside me as I blew out the candles of my cake, wishing me a wonderful birthday. I haven’t dreamt of them like that in years, and a small sadness settles in. But today is Monday. It also meant today is my birthday and that I’m now considered an adult. I could finally live my life my way without the worry of Mia and Zack trying to control me. Today will be a good day, and to top it all off, there will be a full moon tonight.The shrill of the stupid alarm rings, making me groan. I forgot that Monday also meant school. With a sigh, I sit up and fumble with the alarm clock. All I know is that when I graduate, the first thing I’m doing is smashing this thing with a s
Chapter 7 - Time Slowly HealsThe smell of freshly cooked pasta slowly fills the kitchen and extends into my living room as I pull a dish out of the oven and scoop a generous heap onto my plate. I do a once-over of the kitchen, making sure the oven and stovetop were off and that the dishes were in the dishwasher, ready to be cleaned when I’m done eating. I grab a bottle of water from my fridge and make my way into the living room. With a plate of food in one hand and the TV remote in the other, I settle into the plush sofa and surf Netflix, trying to find something entertaining to watch with my meal.It has been three months since I left my old pack—a decision I do not regret—and I had been lucky enough to find a house that the realtor described as a “mini-mansion” just inside neutral territory but hours away from Forest Paw. The best part about this place is the large greenhouse that I began using right away to grow fruit trees and vegetables. Since being rejected and becoming a rogu
Chapter 8 - Dealing with Beasts The night is eerily silent while my feet carry me through the tree canopy. Nocturnal animals were hidden away, causing dread to swell inside me. With how quiet it was, it meant the situation with the Soulless is worse than I thought. As I cross the northern border to the Blood Moon Pack territory once again for the night, the signs of struggle slowly grow below me with my eyes scanning the forest floor. You could usually sniff out the foul stench of a Soulless before you see them. Carefully sniffing the air, the scent of decay and rot reach my nose, causing me to feel woozy. I couldn’t help but use my black scarf to cover up my mouth and nose to rid of the stench I breathe in, stopping to lean on a trunk for support. I hated this stench.The sounds of growling reach my ears, indicating that I am close. I continue forward, making sure that the stench is filtered so as not to get sick off the scent of the Soulless, and continue to keep an eye
Chapter 9 - Saving an AlphaI waited for the next wave of attacks as the three Hunters circled around me. The leader of the Soulless group waited patiently in the background as large snarls are directed at me. I thought the Hunters would be the easiest to deal with, but it’s clear I was dead wrong. The Hunters were far more organized than the Trackers. Clearly, they had planned out their attack on how to wear me down. I hated it.The next wave starts, and I grin, this time prepared for their attack. I watched each wolf carefully, waiting to see who would go first. It seemed like everyone’s patience is wearing thin. The first one to make a move is the black wolf to my left. He leaps at me, his body high in the sky and I drop to my knees, my throwing knife cutting deep into his belly. He hits the ground dead, black blood pooling around his corpse.The second one runs at me, her fury escalating from the sight of the dead Hunter behind me. I guess those two were close. As the she-wolf get
Chapter 10 - Fateful EncounterThe warm sunlight surrounds me as I stare at the lake in front of me. The sound of waves gently crashing against the shore washes a sense of calmness over me as the soft breeze ruffles my long hair and pink sundress. Today, I am nineteen years old, and it has been one year since becoming a rogue. My heart still feels broken, but I am happy instead of feeling a shattering pain from the rejection. As pups, we are told that the first year after being rejected is the most difficult to overcome. Your sanity could shatter, or the pain of the rejection could physically kill you. If the mate that rejected you was selfish, they could cause more harm to you by having sex with other wolves after the rejection. I knew that pain all too well.But somehow, I managed to keep my sanity, even when I felt like giving in to the pain. I managed to survive a year alone as a rogue and even killed plenty of Soulless in the process. You might think that I’m cruel for killing an